Heroes on Ordinary Days
by CrlkSeasons
Summary: A two-part story in a loosely connected series that is set during the time when Tom was an ensign. It is an excuse to revisit the smile on Tom's face in the episode, 11:59, and suggests why Neelix gave the Captain a picture that she clearly didn't want.
1. Chapter 1

Strength of character is not solely reserved for times of crisis. It is also evident in how we face the ordinary demands of everyday life. CS

Heroes On Ordinary Days

Part 1

"So Uncle Jack decided not to disturb anyone else. He made the six month journey back to Earth all by himself." Harry Kim paused to look over at the Captain who was sitting near Neelix and Seven of Nine. He grinned in anticipation of the punch line of his story. "When he woke the rest of the crew from stasis, they asked why he had woken them up when they hadn't even left orbit yet."

Leaning back on her couch Kathryn Janeway laughed in appreciation. She was pleased that Harry was beginning to relax enough in her company to share this kind of family story with her. Eventually the day would come when he would have enough self-assurance to command a ship, just like his Uncle Jack.

Tom was lounging comfortably on the other side of the room. He watched Harry have his moment in the sun and smiled affectionately at his friend. Tom recognized the family resemblance between Harry and his many-times-great Uncle Jack who had pulled off such a demanding feat and then acted in such a low-keyed way.

When the Captain invited this small group to her quarters, Tom had automatically headed for his favorite chair. He had been in the Captain's quarters more than once back in the days when Tuvok and the Captain were setting up the plan for Tom to expose the spy on Voyager. They had met in the Captain's quarters to ensure privacy. Tom didn't talk much about those days. He certainly didn't tell Harry that he had already been invited to the Captain's quarters. He knew that Harry would only wonder why it had taken so long for Harry to get his own invitation.

A beep sounded at the Captain's door and the door swished open. The Doctor entered with a lame excuse about a report that he wanted to share with the Captain. It didn't take him long to invite himself to join the group and he quickly took over the conversation. He took over so quickly that Tom couldn't resist teasing him. The Doctor shot back with a line of his own and Tom nodded his approval. 'His cousin the prize winning chess program.' Good one!

Seven frowned at this apparent levity at the Doctor's expense. She really didn't 'get' banter yet. "Ensign Paris, you have yet to elaborate on your family origins."

'Ooops!' Tom thought. Not his favorite topic. Still, he supposed he'd better take his turn. He wasn't about to talk about his family's Starfleet history, though. Let's see, further back his family members were more down-to-earth. "Well, they were a pretty ordinary bunch…" he began. Oh wait, wasn't there that pilot on Mars? Tom's face brightened and he unconsciously shifted forward. "There was this one. He was a pilot…"

Kathryn Janeway watched the transformation in Tom's expression. He was clearly delighted to recall that there was another Paris in the family who loved to fly. Usually when Tom spoke of his family, it only underscored how much of an outsider he felt himself to be. In his view, he was someone who could never fit into the mold created by the unending Paris line of Captains and Admirals. It was good to see him realize that he was not an anomaly in his family, that being a Paris and loving to fly was not an inherent contradiction in terms.

Family mattered to Kathryn. Her parents, cousins, uncles and aunts, especially her father's Aunt Martha with her wonderful family stories, had created a supportive village for Kathryn and her sister, Phoebe, when they were growing up. Even though her younger sister was so different from Kathryn herself, Phoebe and their mother were both people that Kathryn knew she could rely on to stand with her against the rest of the universe. Kathryn could only imagine what it must be like to feel that you couldn't count on that kind of support.

Tom finished his short story with a huge grin on his face. Kathryn smiled warmly. At this moment she thought she recognized signs of the easygoing officer Tom might have been if he hadn't been so weighed down, first with family expectations, and then with guilt. Coping with Caldik Prime and subsequent events had probably given him a greater resilience and strength than he might otherwise have had, but at a great cost. He was now revealing more of the sunnier disposition that was probably always meant to be a part of his nature. It was good to see that too.

From his chair Neelix eagerly drank in all the stories. His own opportunity for new memories of his Talaxian family had been cut off abruptly with their violent deaths. Each story from his new family on Voyager served to replace the ones that he should have been able to build with his own parents and sisters over all these lost years.

Neelix was listening so intently to Tom's story that he easily picked up on his reference to Mars. The Captain had recently told him about one of her own ancestors who had played a prominent role in the early Mars projects. "Your ancestor must have known the Captain's," he remarked to Tom.

The Captain also recognized the connection. "Looks like we go way back, Mr. Paris." She maintained formal titles in this otherwise informal gathering.

Tom was immediately intrigued. "What's the name?" he asked.

"Shannon O'Donnell!" the Captain told him proudly.

"O'Donnell?" Tom racked his memory, trying to find a match. It was no use. He could remember everyone of importance on all the Mars projects and there was no one by that name. He wished that there was a way to avoid telling that to the Captain. She had sounded so pleased. But he couldn't lie, especially not to her. "Um, I don't think so," he said carefully.

Kathryn was taken aback. This was so unexpected that she couldn't even react. Tom's impressive knowledge of the period didn't leave much room for doubt about his facts. The coffee in her cup suddenly tasted like ashes. The need to be a good hostess prompted her to put her private feelings aside. After an awkward moment, the conversation resumed. The rest of the evening passed uneventfully.

Most of her guests left together. Tom and Neelix stayed to help clean up. Neelix stayed because he saw every social occasion as his personal responsibility. Tom stayed to give Neelix a hand. He knew, more than most, how hard Neelix worked in a role that others sometimes took for granted.

Tonight Tom had a second reason for staying. He had read the expression on the Captain's face when he told her about Shannon O'Donnell. She had covered it up quickly enough. But it had been there. He'd seen it.

There wasn't a lot of cleaning up to do and they quickly finished. Neelix picked up a tray and prepared to leave. Tom held back. "Neelix, you go on ahead," he said. "I'll be along in a minute."

Neelix nodded. He had seen the Captain's face too. "I'll be in my kitchen. Good night, Captain."

"Good night, Neelix," she said. She waited for him to leave and allowed Tom to remain.

"Captain, maybe I spoke too soon. I might have missed something about Shannon O'Donnell," Tom told her, offering a way to cushion the blow without sacrificing the truth.

"That's not very likely, is it?" she said, shaking her head. Seeing his concern, she tried to assure him that she wasn't really bothered by his information. "I'm fine. Don't worry. If it really matters to me, I can always make a search of the records myself." He didn't look entirely convinced so she decided to distract him instead. "Remember that we have a meeting tomorrow. I hope you have your next review of Starfleet protocols ready."

"An Analysis of the Duties of a Ship's First Officer: Crew Assignments and Morale," Tom quoted the title of his assignment. "It's all finished." Privately, he thought that the length of the title bore a direct relationship to the dryness of the topic. He'd done his best to try to alleviate that dryness without blatantly overstepping the bounds of protocol.

"I look forward to reading it," she said with understated irony. She was all too familiar with the dull but necessary reports that were the bane of those in command, and those in training for command. She was also familiar with the hidden subtext that Tom worked into many of the duller reports that she had assigned for him to write.

Despite her words, Kathryn's disappointment had touched her deeply and she was suddenly very tired. "You'd better go now," she told Tom. "Neelix is waiting for you."

After he left, Kathryn sat back down on her couch. She leaned against the cushions and closed her eyes. She had rested like this many times over the years, eyes closed, calling up memories of home. They were always a deep source of comfort to her. She returned to them time and again whenever the road ahead threatened to stretch out too far for her to bear. Last week had been her Aunt Martha's birthday. One of her favorite memories had always been about the family's summer visits to her aunt. Aunt Martha would sit out on her porch swing in the early afternoon. Kathryn, her sister Phoebe and all their cousins would gather around on the wooden steps near her feet. She would tell them story after story about Shannon O'Donnell while the light from the afternoon sun inched its way up the steps and the insects buzzed around the flowers in her garden.

That porch suddenly felt so much farther away, lost with all the family birthdays and the meaningless seasons of a planet at least a half a galaxy away.

Down in the mess hall's kitchen, Tom helped Neelix to put away the last of the serving dishes. Neelix tried reading Tom's face and got nowhere. He decided to fish for information instead. "I thought the evening went well," he began. "The Captain even ate some of my Deviled Calex Surprise and I wasn't too sure about that one. The Captain's palate can be tricky to gauge. Do you think she enjoyed it?"

"I'm sure she did, Neelix," Tom answered absentmindedly, placing a serving platter in one of the upper cupboards.

Neelix sidestepped to his real topic. "Well, that was certainly a surprise about the Captain's ancestor."

"Yeah," Tom agreed, checking for any more plates to put away. He couldn't get over feeling bad about being the one to deliver the news.

"Maybe we should do something to cheer her up," Neelix suggested.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Neelix. She likes to handle these things herself. The Captain is one strong lady."

"We're family. I don't see why her family can't help her." Neelix insisted.

Tom couldn't argue with that. The people on Voyager had become special to him, family and friends. For the first time in his life he knew for certain that what they felt about him had nothing to do with what kind of position he, or any other Paris, held in Starfleet. Unlike back in the Alpha quadrant, no one here turned away from him when he lost his rank.

"Maybe you're right," Tom conceded. "I tell you what. She said she would check into the records on Shannon O'Donnell. Let her do that first. If it doesn't work out for her, we can talk again."

"Good idea," Neelix said, clapping Tom on the shoulder.

The next day didn't bring better news to ease the Captain's disappointment. Instead of being the indispensable hero of the Millennium Gate Project, Shannon O'Donnell turned out to be a minor player in the whole affair. The Captain tried to make light of her disappointment. She even made a joke about it.

It would have been easier for her to shake off her disappointment if it hadn't left her with such a deep feeling of loss. Through the years she had tried hard to build a sense of community and family on Voyager. Her own ingrained sense of family, buoyed by shared stories such as those about Shannon O'Donnell, had been a reservoir of strength for her. Now an important piece of that family history had been ripped away and the weight on her shoulders had gotten that much heavier. She felt that it was now all up to her, alone, to find the strength that she needed for her crew.

Sitting in her ready room early that afternoon, Kathryn turned her attention back to the PADD that Tom had dropped off during his morning break. He would be here soon for their meeting and she wanted to finish entering some notes on her PADD. His latest report was another thorough analysis with insights that challenged a few of their accepted practices. She expected nothing less from him. The detours into levity that were scattered throughout his report were sufficiently disguised inside Voyager specific references so that no one at Starfleet could ever pick up on them. The hidden jokes were meant for her eyes only. Even though she'd snorted coffee up through her nose more than once, she let them be.

Kathryn made one final entry then filed a copy of Tom's report with the notes she was keeping to document his work. When the time came to restore his rank, there would be ample evidence that he had indeed earned his reinstatement.

Soon after, the signal on her door beeped. That would be Tom now. "Come," she instructed.

"Captain," Tom said to formally announce his arrival.

"Mr. Paris, " she replied, matching his formality. "I read your report." She caught his eye to acknowledge that she had picked up the humor, and then continued on as if nothing outside of regulation had just occurred. "I've noted some points for you to discuss with Commander Chakotay." She handed a PADD to Tom so he could look them over while listening to her.

Tom suppressed a triumphant smile. He'd noticed a small splatter of coffee on the sleeve of the Captain's uniform. He turned his attention to the PADD that Captain had handed him and had no trouble maintaining his sober facade. The PADD held an alarmingly long list of discussion questions.

"The Commander can give you a better perspective on how these particular protocols impact day to day operations. You should find what he has to say useful in developing a deeper understanding of the role of a ship's First Officer."

Sensing a new assignment coming, Tom made a halfhearted attempt to head it off. "I'm only an ensign," he reminded her in a joking tone.

She knew that he wasn't being entirely serious. Still, she didn't like the idea of him getting too used to thinking of himself as an ensign. "Right now, yes. But, Tom, you have to know that I expect you to work hard and earn back your lieutenant rank. I know you can do it."

"Couldn't I just save the ship from some disaster?" he asked, still half joking.

"You've already demonstrated your command abilities in crisis situations. You've proven that you have initiative and considerable tactical skills."

This was the simple truth. With help from two Voyager crewmen and a small group of Talaxians, Tom had organized a plan that enabled them to retake the ship from the Kazon and rescue the rest of the Voyager crew. Back in the Alpha quadrant, a feat like that could get you fast tracked to Captain.

"Been there, done that?" Tom asked.

The Captain smiled at the wording. "Something like that. What you need to demonstrate now is how well you handle the hard work and the discipline needed to look after a ship's daily business."

"Hard work and discipline. Great!" he muttered unconvincingly.

The Captain sympathized. However, she had seen other cases where officers made an impression on the Admiralty and were pushed up through the ranks. Some had to master most of the skills needed to effectively run a ship while on the job. Some never did. They ended up flying outdated ships in quiet Federation backwaters. Even out here in the Delta quadrant, she had no intention of ever letting Tom join the ranks of that kind of officer. When he was ready for command, he really _would_ be ready. "I've asked Chakotay to meet with you after your bridge shift this afternoon. Starting tomorrow, I want you to work more closely with him so you can learn more about the ins and outs of keeping the ship and crew operating at peak efficiency."

It seemed to Tom that the Captain had already had him review and report on every possible subsection of Starfleet regulations. He was beginning to wonder just how many more assignments she could come up with. "Oh well," he told himself, accepting the inevitable workload ahead of him. There was nothing in the assignments that he couldn't handle. He might as well just keep forging ahead with the whole reports and protocol thing without complaining, especially today when he knew that the Captain was feeling low. "Yes, Ma'am," he answered aloud.

The Captain nodded her dismissal and picked up another report.

But Tom couldn't leave. He recognized a person in trouble and it wasn't in him to just walk away. "Captain?" he asked and stood his ground, waiting for her to acknowledge him again.

She looked up, somewhat surprised that he hadn't gone. "Was there something else, Mr. Paris?"

He mentally navigated his way around the obstacles in the way of what an ensign could say to a captain and chose his words. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry that I couldn't recognize Shannon O'Donnell's name from any of the Mars missions."

Kathryn honored the concern that motivated him, but switched to a lighter tone to fend it off. "That's all right, Mr. Paris. You just told the truth, I don't shoot the messenger."

"I," he began, and didn't get any further when he realized that there was nothing that he _could_ say that would help.

"I'm fine, Tom," she assured him, even though he still didn't look convinced. "Dismissed," she reminded him gently.

With nothing else that he could see to do right now, Tom left the Captain alone in her ready room. He returned to his station at the helm, leaving an empty feeling nagging at both of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Heroes on Ordinary Days

Part 2

At the start of his afternoon break Tom handed the conn over to his relief and headed down to the mess hall to find Neelix.

Afternoon was one of the quieter times in Neelix's day. He had a few hours before he had to set up for the cross shift evening meal. For the afternoon break he merely set out ingredients for light snacks and the crew helped themselves to food and to the coffee he poured into flasks set out on the counter. When Tom came looking for him, Neelix had a good idea what was on his mind. Neelix waved Tom over to one of the tables. He poured a coffee for Tom and one for himself and then sat down to join him.

Tom checked to make sure that no one was close enough to overhear their conversation and leaned forward to speak to Neelix. "The Captain checked the records on Shannon O'Donnell and still looks pretty down about the whole business," he told him in a subdued tone. "I think it's time to give one of your ideas a try."

Neelix was way ahead of Tom on this one. "Leave it to me. I can have a party up and running in no time. I'll get some refreshments together and spread the word through your 'grape vine' for the crew to come to the mess hall at 21:00. I've already downloaded an image of the Captain's ancestor. I can have that framed and we can present it to her at the party. We'll say that it's in honor of Ancestors' Day. That should cheer her up."

"Ancestors' Day?" Tom questioned, not clear what Neelix was talking about. "I've never heard of it."

"Neither have I," Neelix admitted, not at all put out by this admission. "But this can be our first annual Ancestors' Day, or maybe Ancestors' Eve since it will be at night. You can never have too many celebrations!" he finished cheerfully.

Tom laughed. "You have something there, Neelix. But I don't think it's a good idea to present the Captain with a picture of Shannon O'Donnell in front of the whole crew."

"Do you want me to forget about the picture?" Neelix asked, slightly dejected. He knew how much he treasured the only picture he had left of his sister, Alixia.

Tom thought quickly. He could tell that this was really important to Neelix. "Hold on. Why don't we have the senior staff meet with the Captain a few minutes early? You can give it to her then in the smaller setting."

Neelix brightened, then frowned. "I have so much to do here. I don't think I can come up with an excuse to reach all the senior staff in time to get a private message through to them, not without alerting the Captain to the fact that something is up. It's not the kind of message that I can send through your 'grape vine' or over an open comm link either."

"You can leave that part to me, Neelix," Tom told him.

"What are you going to do, Tom? You don't have much free time before tonight either."

"I'm going to do something that the Captain and Commander Chakotay would both appreciate. I'm going to 'multitask' and 'delegate'. That should leave me with enough time to give you a hand with final preparations." Tom winked at Neelix and left to finish his shift on the bridge.

Well, it had seemed to Tom like a good plan when he had explained it to Neelix, but well into his afternoon meeting with Commander Chakotay, Tom had to wonder if he'd promised too much when he'd said he'd be able to help Neelix set up for the party. His meeting with the Commander had gone on even longer than he had expected.

Tom had figured out a while ago that the number of follow-up questions the Captain assigned to him increased in direct proportion to the amount of humor he injected into the reports that she was having him write. This time he had been inspired, so it was little surprise that today's list was long. But now Chakotay was adding even more questions to the list.

Chakotay was sitting behind his office desk facing Tom in the chair across from him. Chakotay took the time to patiently explain his rationale for each of the points that he was adding to the list. "So, Tom, this covers many of the typical questions that a good First Officer should ask himself when dealing with the crew. You can shadow me a few times to get more practical experience with how well ship's protocols work, or sometimes don't work, in effective crew management. You'll begin to get a fuller picture of the range of tasks that a good First Officer should perform regularly in order to do the job really well."

"Begin?" Tom had to ask himself. "There's going to be more?" Tom took a gulp of his cooling herbal tea. The tea was not Tom's first choice of beverage. But the offer of the tea, and the chair, were tacit signals from Chakotay that they would be on informal terms during their meeting. Tom's acceptance of the tea was his way of showing that he was willing to do his part in the ongoing process of renegotiating a relationship that had once verged on corrosive.

Tom carefully placed his cup down on Chakotay's desk. He decided that this was his best, maybe his only chance to change the subject and fulfill his promise to Neelix. "I can see how important all of this is, Commander," Tom began in all seriousness. "There is certainly a lot involved in looking after the crew's well being, which is, no doubt, one of a First Officer's top priorities."

Chakotay sensed a con job coming. He leaned back in his chair. He wasn't sure what Tom had in mind. For now, he was willing to hear him out. There was no doubt that this would be interesting.

Not receiving a definite stop signal, Tom kept going. "Speaking of the crew's well being, you'll have heard about the party that Neelix is arranging for later tonight."

"I've heard," Chakotay said, conceding that much.

"It's important for crew morale to have these opportunities to get together, to remember where we came from and to celebrate family here on Voyager. We want to make sure that _everyone_ has some time during the evening to come and participate." Tom said, finishing his speech on a rather grandiose note.

"Already looked after," Chakotay assured him, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Good, good," Tom approved. "We're also planning to have a small gathering before the party, just the Captain and senior staff. We hoped that you could arrange to get the senior staff there without the Captain catching on."

"What's the gathering for?" Chakotay asked, probing for information.

"You've also heard all about the Captain's ancestor?" Tom asked.

"I've heard about that too," Chakotay acknowledged. He also knew that Kathryn refused to admit just how much the news about Shannon O'Donnell bothered her.

"Well, Neelix wanted to find a way to show the Captain that we care about how she's feeling. So he came up with the idea of giving her a picture of Shannon O'Donnell that he found in the database. I thought that maybe the Captain would prefer that part to be a bit more private."

"You're probably right." Chakotay agreed. Actually Chakotay was being diplomatic. He was really quite sure that Kathryn would prefer to keep the whole matter private. Still, it wouldn't hurt to help her resolve some of her feelings about Shannon O'Donnell before she had a chance to bottle everything up inside. She'd done way too much of that. "I'll make sure the senior staff gets there." He said, confirming his role in the arrangements.

"Thanks. Just remember that you have to be there too. So don't cover duties yourself." Tom instructed him.

"I'll keep that in mind." Chakotay promised.

"One more thing," Tom added, just a little too casually.

"Yes?" Chakotay responded cautiously. The days might be long gone when he would suspect Tom of plotting something underhanded. Tom was still more than capable of planning something outrageous. Chakotay had visions of Tom asking him to serenade the Captain with an old Irish tune.

What Tom had in mind was actually quite different. It was something that was important to B'Elanna, and therefore important to him too. Chakotay and B'Elanna shared a history. They had a close friendship that Tom knew would always be important to B'Elanna. Tom valued all the time he and B'Elanna spent alone together and wouldn't trade one minute of it. But there was no way around it. With their busy schedules, once they became a couple there was less time available to spend with other friends.

Harry was B'Elanna's friend too, so they could hang out together even when it wasn't just Harry and Tom. Chakotay was a different case. He and Tom socialized and had a better relationship than they had in the past, but they just didn't make the same kind of easy threesome that B'Elanna and Tom made with Harry. So how was B'Elanna supposed to find enough time to have some to spend with _her_ friend?

Tom took a deep breath and asked. "Would you talk to B'Elanna, personally I mean, to make sure that she comes?"

"Don't you want to talk to her yourself?" Chakotay was puzzled by the request.

"I could," Tom acknowledged. "But B'Elanna has lost a lot of people in her life. The ones that she has left are all important to her. The two of you haven't had a lot of time together recently, outside of work that is. B'Elanna should know that's it's okay for the two of you spend time together. That it's okay with me."

"I'm sure she already knows that." Chakotay assured him.

"Sometimes even when you know something, it's good to be reminded. I think it will make a difference if she knows that I asked you to speak to her."

Chakotay regarded Tom thoughtfully. After a moment he said, "I appreciate it too."

Tom nodded. Then he asked, hopefully, "So, are we done here?"

"Actually there is one more thing that I'd like _you_ to do." After all Chakotay _was_ the First Officer. He knew how to multitask and delegate too.

"I thought I was getting off too easily," Tom thought. He only hoped that he could get out of this meeting before he had to commit all the rest of his free time for the week. "Oh?" is what he actually said out loud.

"Yes. I'm trying to get B'Elanna up on the bridge more often. Right now, about the only time she gets up there is when she's monitoring the engineering console. If she had other reasons to be there, she would be available more often to take charge when the more senior officers are called away. We can't let Harry have all the fun." Chakotay smiled at his own humor. "I thought you could arrange for her to spend some time filling in at conn."

"Commander, about the only way I could pry B'Elanna away from her engines to sit at the helm would be to tell her that her piloting skills are too rusty to handle the job," Tom said, trying to explain how impossible the whole idea was.

"I knew I could count on you to come up with a workable plan. I expect to see B'Elanna at the helm very soon. Good job!" Chakotay congratulated him.

"Thanks. I think," Tom managed before finally standing up and making his escape.

Chakotay stayed in his office for quite a while after Tom left. He had a lot of reports to finish reading before the evening. Truthfully though, he wanted some time to himself. A feeling of heaviness that he didn't even realize he had been carrying had been lifted.

When B'Elanna first started dating Tom Paris, Chakotay had pulled back. He didn't want B'Elanna to detect any of the doubts that he had about the relationship. He knew that Tom was a better man than he had been in the past. He just didn't know whether he was the right man for B'Elanna. Truthfully, Chakotay would probably never think that there was anyone good enough for her. But he was realistic enough to know that, with everything that B'Elanna had gone through in the past, it would take a strong man to be there for her in the way she needed him to be. She needed someone who would never cut loose and run the way her father had apparently done. In the beginning, Chakotay didn't know whether Tom Paris could be that man.

As the months passed, his opinion gradually changed. But Chakotay still held back. By then it was to give the two of them the space they needed to develop their relationship. He didn't want to be the big brother crowding in between them. His distance from B'Elanna became a habit. It seemed that the only time he got to talk to B'Elanna, it was as her commanding officer. Today he realized just how much he missed feeling free to call B'Elanna, to spend time with her, just to be with her and talk. This gathering tonight would be good for him too.

That evening Kathryn was giving serious thought to a nice, hot, relaxing bath. As usual the Captain's day had been full. Fortunately she had noticed the stains on her sleeve in time to change into a spare jacket before returning to the bridge. Coffee sleeves had no place in the example she meant to set for her crew.

She was in the middle of contemplating the number of bubbles she should add to her bath when Neelix commed to ask to see her on a personal matter. "Why do I keep imagining that I'll have quiet time?" she asked herself. She hoped this wouldn't take too long. She really could use some time to herself, soon.

When Kathryn entered the mess hall for her meeting with Neelix, she didn't know what she expected to find. She certainly didn't expect to find her whole senior staff standing around chatting over a cold beverage. They were all there, everyone from Chakotay to the Doctor.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Happy Ancestors' Eve," Neelix announced enthusiastically.

"Oh dear," Kathryn thought. Then Neelix confirmed her worst suspicions by holding out a framed picture of Shannon O'Donnell, her less-than-illustrious ancestor. Kathryn resisted at first. Then she pushed aside her disillusionment with the idealized image that she had created of the subject in the picture. She accepted Neelix's gift with a diplomatic smile that softened into a warmer one when she saw how happy this made him.

The Doctor insisted on taking a family photo of his own. He gathered everyone into a group and set his camera on time delay. Tom wrapped his arms around B'Elanna and the smile that the camera captured was even brighter than the smile he had quite unconsciously revealed to the Captain the previous evening.

They all managed to escape from the Doctor's camera after posing for that one portrait. Kathryn chatted with him to keep him from floating around taking candid shots. Seven came over to help. Neelix tried unsuccessfully to persuade Tuvok to 'party'. Tuvok took refuge by moving over to join Tom.

The room filled as more of the crew began to arrive. Their Captain circulated among them, making each new arrival feel welcome. When there was a lull in the arrival of crewmembers, Kathryn stopped to look around the room, and she smiled. This gathering was doing more to restore her energy than any relaxing bath could have done. Her original home in the Alpha quadrant was still far away. But right now she had these dear people who'd joined together in this silly event to cheer her up.

She decided that Neelix had the right idea after all. Maybe they did need to invent more holidays of their very own. She'd just pack Aunt Martha's tales about Shannon O'Donnell away with the stories of Flotter and all the rest of her childhood favorites. Here on Voyager, she had the reality of a ship and crew who had survived everything that the Delta quadrant had thrown at them so far. Against all odds, Starfleet and Maquis had come together to make an exceptional crew. That was something much better for her to hold on to.

"Happy Ancestors' Eve," she wished each group in turn.

Neelix headed back to his kitchen to get more refreshments. Tom looked over to offer to help. But Neelix waved him away. Neelix was in his element. He bustled about making sure that everyone was supplied with food. He set out bowls of his favorite snacks mixed with other snacks that the crew, for some reason, preferred.

The picture of the Captain's ancestor was perched on the counter near one of the snack bowls. Neelix picked it up to examine the image of Shannon O'Donnell surrounded by her children and her grandchildren. He decided that his sister, Alixia, would have liked the people in this photo-image. It was certainly a handsome family, one that anyone could be proud of.

Most of the memories that Neelix had left of his own Talaxian family were buried under haunting images of burnt bodies and melting flesh. Only Alixia was forever accessible to him as she once was, beautiful and alive. She lived for him in the picture of her that he would always carry with him.

Neelix was sure that Alixia would have liked the people in this room too. He watched the Captain mingle with her crew to draw the people together. She seemed to know just what to say to blend people into comfortable groups. She made sure that everyone was having a good time.

Over on one side Commander Chakotay waved to Mr. Ayala to come and join him in reminiscing with B'Elanna about old times and old friends. Neelix saw Tom smile across at B'Elanna, and then turn to engage a particularly shy ensign in a conversation with Harry and Sue Nicoletti.

These were people who bounced back from setbacks, even heart breaking ones. They staved off tedium and loneliness. They endured the ordinary to perform the extraordinary. Of course, most of them were far too serious for Talaxian tastes and none of them knew how to appreciate really good cooking. But, weighing the good with the bad, they were Neelix's idea of true heroes.

The End

Author's notes:

1) The scene in the Captain's quarters and the beginning of the Ancestors' Eve celebration were adapted, with some dialogue changes, from the episode, 11:59. The other parts of the story are pure invention.

2) In several of the episodes from the fourth and fifth seasons, Chakotay was noticeably abrupt in his dealings with B'Elanna. In the sixth season there were signs of a return to a more relaxed, easy friendship as seen in B'Elanna and Chakotay's outing to watch the Tsunkatze matches. I included the conversation between Tom and Chakotay in this story to provide a reason, and I think a rather nice one, for the transition.

3) I also included an excuse for B'Elanna to be on helm duty just because B'Elanna turned up at the helm in the episode, One Small Step.


End file.
